EVOLUTION - RYDER SCANLON

21

"What was it you said you were trying to accomplish from this?" Geordie asked, trudging over to an empty table where she could place the heavy pair of rollerblades she had rented from the skating rink.

      Ryder was immensely ecstatic over the fact that he could finally show Geordie off as his girlfriend. He never wanted to make her feel as though she were simply a prize that could be flaunted around, but he was excited to show people how much love he had for someone who he believed was the most amazing person to have ever crossed paths with him.

      "For us to start doing couple things that makes single people vomit," Ryder answered, smiling cheekily as he sat down at a table that was pushed against the side of the rink. "That includes going on dates where we show everyone how happy we are to be in a relationship."

     "Wow." Geordie laughed, settling in her seat as she imagined what it would be like if some innocent soul had accidentally bumped into the large see-though barrier with a loud thump. "When did you turn into a sadist?"

     Ryder stared blankly at the girl in front of her, attempting to figure out the meaning of the foreign word through context clues, as Geordie had told him to. A few seconds later, he gave up and said, "I have no idea what that means."

     This only made Geordie laugh again, which made Ryder's heart thump loudly and he figured that if everything he said was comedic to her, he would never shut up. "Someone that enjoys seeing others hurt, or enjoys hurting people. It was a joke," Geordie explained, realizing how strong of a word it really was. In reality, Ryder was the most lovable person in all of Ohio, probably in all the universes combined.

      "Well, people in relationships strike me as sort of emotional sadists," Ryder admitted, shrugging softly. "At least, that's how it seemed when I was single."

      "But you're not single anymore," Geordie replied, as though it were something he was unaware of. "Which means you don't have to be like those people in relationships. We can define our relationship as whatever we want it to be, without meeting the social standards of what people would call normal relationships."

Ryder titled his head to the side, his eyelids pulling together as he tried to make sense of what Geordie had just told him. "I don't think I caught on to the logic of your sentence."

"Never mind," she replied, knowing that she had been rambling about something silly. Though she didn't want to admit it, she didn't want their relationship to be one where others hated them. Since it was her first relationship ever, she didn't want to single out those people who believed they would never find someone. She just wanted to be with Ryder, happy and relaxed, not caring what others thought of them, whether they were hated or loved.

"I just want to do those things with you, G," he responded, his voice being masked behind the loud music echoing through the building. "Hold hands, annoy people because we're laughing so hard and we don't know why we're laughing. Probably at nothing."

She smiled in return, reaching across the table to grab onto his much larger hand. She entangled their fingers together, feeling content with how it felt to hold hands with someone she had a deep connection with for over two years now. It was blissful to know that they could feel so comfortable without having to exchange any words. They could simply be relaxed with each other's comfort, even with the excessive chattering of teenagers around them and music so loud, they swore their ears would start to bleed.

"We can do those things," she assured him. "I hope you have a long list full of them, because we're starting now."

Ryder grinned, nodding his head rapidly as he grabbed onto his skates to suggest what he planned on doing tonight. "If we're starting now, you better put your skates on."